Abstract

Changes in conductivity of InN, In0.5Ga0.5N, and In0.5Al0.5N layers exposed to Ar plasmas under both electron cyclotron resonance and reactive ion etching conditions have been measured as a function of rf power, pressure, and exposure time. The combination of high microwave and high rf powers produces large increases (10–104 times) in sheet resistance of the nitrides, but conditions more typical of real etching processes (rf power <150 W) do not change the electrical properties. The nitrides are more resistant to damage introduction than other III–V semiconductors. The removal of damage‐related traps occurs with an activation energy of ∼2.7 eV.